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IRVING'S 

CATECHISM 



BOTANY: 

CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST 

FAMILIAR AND INTERESTING PLANTS, 

- ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE LINN^EAN SYSTEM, 
WITH 

AN APPENDIX, 

ON THE 

FORMATION OF AN HERBARIUM. 

THIRD AMERICAN EDITION, REVISED AND IMPROVED, 

By M. J. KERNEY, Esq. 

Author of Compendium of Ancient aud Modern History, &c. &c. &c. 


&tm:ptetJ to tje use of Schools in tie 2ilitite& States, 
_ __ 

BALTIMORE: 
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. MURPHY & CO, 

No. 178 MAKKET\§TRE£T. 

PHILAD'A : KAY & TROUTMAN. PITTSBURG : GEORGE QTIGLEY. 

Sold by Booksellers generally throughout the United States, 



Entered, according to the act of Congress, in the year eighteen 
hundred and fifty, by John Murphy & Co., in the Clerk's Office 
of the District Court of Maryland. 



I K* 









EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 



The divisions, a, b, c, #c, represent the different parts 
of the wall-flower: a, the flower; 6, the pistil and sta- 
mens ; c, the seed-vessel opened, and the bottom part of 
the receptacle ; d, the calyx, or cup ; e, the corolla, or 
blossom ; /, a stamen magnified ; g 9 the pistil magnified. 

ILASS. 

1. A Flower of the Hippuris Vulgaris — Com. Mare's -tail. 

2. Veronica Beccabunga — Brooklime, 

Speedwell. 

3. ■ Valeriana Officinalis — Great wild Va- 
lerian. 

4. Hex Aquifolium — Common Holly. 

5. Atropa Belladonna — Deadly Night- 
shade. 

6. Lilium Candidum — Com. White Lily. 

7. Msculus Hippocastanum Horse- 
Chestnut. 

cS. Chlora Perfoliata — Yellow Centaury. 

9. Butomus Umbellaiuc Flowering 

Rush. 

10. Dianthus Caesius — Mountain Pink. 

I. Semper vivum Tectorum Common 

Houseleek. 

.2. Rosa Canina— Common Dog Rose. 

3. Pepaver Rhaeus— Com. Red Poppy, 

4. Lamium Album — White Dead Nettle. 

5. Cheiranthus Cheiri —Common Wall- 

Flower. 

6. . - Malva Sylvestris— Common MallovV. 



2 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 

17. A flower of the Lathyrus Odoratus — Sweet Pea. 

18. • Hypericum Jlndrosaemum — Tutsan* 

19. Bellis Perennis — Common Daisy. 

20. Orchis Mascula — Early purple orchis. 

21. Flowers of the Quercus Robur — Common Oak tree, 

(magnified) two having stamens only, and two 
with pistils only. 

22. Two catkins, from different plants of the Salix Ar- 

genlea — Silky Sand- Willow; one bearing flowers 
with stamens, the other with pistils. 

23. Three flowers (magnified) of the Mriplex Patula- 

Halberd-leaved Orache ; one perfect, one with sta- 
mens only, and the other with a pistil only. 

24. 1. A mushroom. 2. Moss. 3. Lichen. 4. Sea-weed. 



PREFACE. 



The long established reputation of Irving 5 s 
Catechisms, precludes the necessity of adding 
any comments on their merits. The very ex- 
;ensive circulation, which they have had, not 
only in England, but also in this country, is the 
best proof of their utility. The plan of his 
works, is the very best that could be adopted. 
The Catechetical form of instruction, is now ad- 
mitted, by the most experienced teachers, to be 
he best adapted to the nature and capacity of 
youth ; — a system, by which children will ac- 
quire a knowledge of a science, in less time, 
than by any other. 

As an introductory work, the present number 
on Botany will be found to possess peculiar 
merits. It presents to the mind of the pupil, a 
clear and concise view of the whole science of 
Botany. In a few words, it unfolds the beauty 
of the science, and points out the many advan- 
tages to be derived from the study, 



4 PREFACE. 

The present edition has been carefully revised, 
and considerably enlarged. The various im- 
provements, which the genius of modern authors 
have added to the science, have been introduced. 

These improvements, it is believed, will ren- 
der the edition, which is now presented to the 
public, much more valuable than any former 
edition. 



CATECHISM OF BOTANY. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

How pleasing the task to trace a Heavenly power, 
In each, sweet form, that decks the blooming flower, 
And climb the heights of yonder starry road, 
And rise through nature, up to nature's God. 

Q. What is Botany? 

A. Botany is the science, which teaches us 
the knowledge of plants and vegetables, the 
arrangement of their several kinds, and their 
various medicinal, or noxious qualities. 

Q. What are the advantages to be derived 
from the study of Botany ? 

A. A knowledge of this science, enables us 
to distinguish between such vegetables, or 
plants as are noxious, and those that are use- 
'ul for food, or for other purposes of life. 

Q. What other advantage has this science ? 

A. Study of Botany is in a high decree inter- 
esting. It moreover contributes to our health, 
as it often attracts to the country, and renders 
us acquainted with the wonderful works of na- 
ture. It also enlarges our minds, by affording 
2 



O CATECHISM OF 

us new and useful ideas, and fills us with the 
most exalted admiration of the great Creator 
of the Universe. 

Q. What productions of nature are com- 
prehended in the appellation of plants and ve- 
getables ? 

A. Plants and vegetables are bodies, that 
grow out of the earth; they are supported by 
air and food, endowed with life, and subject to 
death, hut incapable of voluntary motion. 

Q. What is the number of plants known at 
present? 

A. Botanists have discovered upwards of 
20^000 different species of plants. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Process of Vegetation. 

Q. Of what are plants, or vegetables com- 
posed ? 

A. When subjected to chemical analysis, 
they are found to contain calcareous earth, oil, 
water, and air, with a small quantity of iron, to 
which last substance, they owe their beautiful 
colors. 

Q. What is the first process in vegetation? 

A. The seed of a plant being committed to 
the ground by nature, or by the hand of man, 



BOTANY. 



swells by the moisture it imbibes, and in a few 
days throws out two shoots ; the first of which 
strikes downwards into the soil, and forms the 
root ; and the other forces its way into the air. 

Q. What are the different parts of a plant? 

A. A perfect plant consists of the root, the 
trunk or stem, the stalks, the leaves, the flow- 
er, and the fruit. 

Q. What are the functions of the root? 

A. The root serves to fix the plant, and to 
imbibe nourishment from the earth for its sup- 
port, 

Q. What names are given to it, according 
to its duration? 

A. Roots are called annual, when they are 
produced only once a year, as oats, barley, &c: 
they are biennial, when they are produced in 
one year, and flourish the next, as wheat; and 
perennial, when they last for many years as 
trees. 

Q. Of what does the root consist ? 

A. The root generally consists of two parts ; 
the body and the fibres: the latter is the part 
which imbibes nourishment; and as its powers 
are dormant during the winter, that season is 
most proper for transplantation. 

Q. What are the different kinds of roots? 

A. Roots are of various kinds; such as the 
bulbous, tuberose, spindle, fibrous, §x. 

Q. Can you give an example of these roots ? 

A. The root of the onion is bulbous ; that 



CATECHISM OF 



of the potato, tuberose ; that of the carrot and 
radish, spindle ; grass and trees, have fibrous, 
or branching roots. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Structure of Plants. 

Q. What is the trunk or stem ? 

A. The trunk or stem, is that part of a 
plant which produces the leaves and flowers, 
and serves to elevate them above the ground. 

Q. Of what parts is it composed ? 

A. The trunk or stem consists of the cuti- 
cle, or exterior thin covering, answering to 
the skin of animals ; the outer and inner bark ; 
the wood : and the pith. 

Q. Of what utility is the bark? 

A. The outer bark serves to protect the 
plant from the effects of cold ; and the inner 
bark, or liber, is the part in which the vital 
principle of a plant is chiefly seated. 

Q. How is the wood formed ? 

A. The wood is a compact fibrous sub- 
stance, formed by new layers, which are added 
every year from the innermost part of the bark ; 
so that the age of a tree or shrub, may be as- 
certained, by the number of ligneous circles, 
which appear upon cutting the stem close to 
the root. 



BOTANY. if 

Q. What are the nature and functions of 
the pith ? 

A. The pith is a tolerably firm, juicy sub- 
stance, which is diffused through the plant, to 
give energy and vigor to the whole: it is 
most abundant in young plants, diminishes as 
they grow up, and at length totally disappears. 

Q. What is the sap ? 

A. The sap is the fluid which nourishes the 
plant, and is as it were the blood from which 
the whole body derives life. 

Q. By what r#eaus does it perform its func- 
tions? /■"' 

A. The fluids, destined to nourish the plant, 
being absorbed by the root, and become sap, 
are carried up into the leaves and branches, 
i>y the action of heat, through a number of 
ongitudinal tubes in the wood, placed round 
the centre or pith. 

Q. Is it found in the plant during the whole 
pear ? 

A. The sap is forced down into the root by 
;he severity of winter; but, when the cold 
lubsides, it ascends in the trunk or stem, as 
nay be seen by breaking a vine branch before 
he leaves appear, when it will flow in large 
drops. 

Q. What are the stalks ? 

A. The stalks are those parts of a plant 
vhich bear the leaves, flowers, or fruits ; as, 
he straw in grasses. That which supports 



10 CATECHISM OF 

the flower, or fruit, is sometimes called, the 
stem. The strings of peas, beans, &c., are 
called tendrils. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Buds and Leaves. 

Q. What is the bud ? 

A. The bud is that part of a plant which 
contains the future shoot, wrapt up in scales, 
and protected from external injuries, till the 
season is fit for its expansion. 

Q. How are they formed ? 

A. Buds are formed during the summer, and 
consist of small leaves, closely enveloping 
each other, and often protected against wet 
and cold, by an external guard of a gummy, 
resinous, or woolly substance. 

Q,. What do you remark of the leaves ? 

A. The leaves, which differ much in the 
variety and elegance of their form, consist of 
an immense number of fibres or nerves, di- 
vided into two sets, one belonging to each 
surface. 

Q. How do they perform their functions? 

A. The surface of the leaf being full of 
minute pores or holes, it imbibes the dew, air, 
&c., necessary for the growth of the plant; 



BOTANY. 11 

it also exposes the sap, which it receives from 
the wood, to the action of the air, and returns 
it to the bark by its fibres or vessels. 

Q. For what purposes are the leaves de- 
signed ? 

A. Leaves serve to nourish and prepare the 
buds of the future shoots, which are always 
formed at the base of the leaf-stalk; and to 
shade them, as well as the fruit, from the too 
powerful heat of the sun, which would dry up 
their moisture, and prevent them from coming 
to maturity. 

Q. What else is remarkable of leaves r 

A. Leaves always turn towards the light;, 
they also give out moisture : and it has been 
ascertained, that healthy vegetables perspire 
water, by the under surface of their leaves, 
equal to one-third part of their weight every 
twenty-four hours. 

Q. Are there not many different kinds of 
leaves? 

A. Botanists enumerate above 100 distinc- 
tions of leaves, according to their position and 
form : their color is almost universally green;,, 
but the upper and under surfaces commonly 
differ in hue, as w r ell as in kind or degree of 
roughness. 

Note. — It has been proved, by experiments with the 
air pump, that if leaves be deprived of air, the whole plant 
will die. In all countries where there is almost perpetually 
a burning sun, scarcely any trees lose their leaves, because 
they require them for shade. 



12 CATECHISM OF 

CHAPTER V. 

Secretions, Odor $ and Color of Plants. 

Q. What is meant by the secreted fluids of 
plants ? 

A. The sap, when exposed to the action of 
the air, light, and heat, by the leaves, becomes 
a new fluid, which, assuming the peculiar fla- 
vors and qualities of the plant, has obtained 
the name of secretions. 

Q. Mention the most distinct secretions of 
vegetables ? 

A. Gum is a secretion, which oozes from 
the plum, cherry, and other trees, in the form 
of large drops or lumps; rosin and turpentine 
are of the same nature ; also the milky juice 
of the fig, poppy, &c. 

Q. What other natural substances are found 
in vegetables? 

A. Sugar is procured from the sugar-cane, 
beet, carrots, &c.; tar, from the bark of trees ; 
oils, from the seeds, or kernels of olives, al- 
monds, linseed, &c; and wax is extracted from 
all flowers by bees. 

Q. From what does the odor, or smell of 
plants proceed ? 

A. The odor of plants is a volatile oil of 
a resinous nature, communicated to the sur- 
rounding atmosphere ; some plants, which have 



BOTANY. 13 

no smell during the day, emit an odor in the 
evening; and the sweet smell of new hay, is 
perceptible only when the grass begins to dry. 

Q. How is the green color of plants ac- 
counted for ? 

A. The green color of vegetables is sup- 
posed to arise from the oil, which they con- 
tain, acted upon by the rays of the sun, as it 
is well known, that plants raised in the dark, 
are of a pale, sickly white. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Flower and Fruit. 

Q. What is the flower ? 

A. The flower is that temporary, and often 
beautiful part of a plant, which is destined for 
the formation and perfection of the fruit and 
seeds. 

Q. What are its principal parts ? 

A. The parts of a flower, called the parts 
of fructification, are seven ; namely, the calyx, 
the corolla, the stamens, the pistils, the pericar- 
pium, the seed, and the receptacle. 

Q. What is the calyx ? 

A. The calyx or flower-cup, is the green 
part situated immediately under the blossom ; 
as, the green leaves of a rose-bud. See plate. 



14 CATECHISM OF 

Q. What is the corolla? 

A. The corolla are the delicate leaves called 
the blossom ; as, the red and fragrant parts of 
a rose: one of these red leaves is called a petal. 

Q. In what part of the flower is the honey- 
found ? 

A. The honey, which is extracted by bees 
and other insects, is an almost universal fluid 
in flowers, found at the bottom of the corolla, 
in the part called the nectary, which however 
is not always distinct and perceptible 

Q. What are the stamens? 

A. The stamens are the threads w r ithin a 
flower, which have heads called anthers : the 
slender part by which they are fastened to the 
flower, is termed the filament. 

Q. What are the pistils? 

A. The pistils are the threads situated with- 
in the stamens, in the centre of the flower ; 
each of which consists of three parts. 

Q. Describe the parts of the pistil ? 

A. The thickest part at the bottom of the 
pistil, is called the germen, or seed bud, and 
contains the rudiments of the young fruit or 
seed; the style stands upon the germen, and 
serves to elevate the stigma, or highest part of 
the pistil. 

Q. What is the pericarpium? 

A. The pericarpium, or seed-vessel, is the 
germen grown to maturity : it varies extremely, 
being pulpy in apples and pears; fleshy in 



BOTANY. 15 

plums and cherries; hard in nuts; or juicy, 
as in the gooseberry and currant. 

Q. Is then, the fruit which we eat, the peri- 
carpium ? 

A. Yes, the fruits which afford us so many 
luxuries for the table, are in reality nothing 
more than pericarps, serving to protect the 
seeds tiil ripe, and then, by becoming the food 
of animals, or by other means, to promote 
their dispersion. 

Q. What is the seed? 

A. The seed is that part of every plant by 
which it is propagated : the part of the seed 
which contains the future plant, is the germ, 
vulgarly called the eye ; no seed being capable 
of vegetating, if this be defective. 

Q. How is the seed generated ? 

A. The head of the stamen is provided with 
a fine dust called pollen, which falling on the 
gummy matter at the top of the pistil, is there 
absorbed and carried down into the germen or 
seed-vessel, where the seed is in consequence 
rendered fruitful and capable of re-producing 
the plant. 

Q. What wonderful means are employed to 
scatter and preserve the seeds ? 

A. Many fruits are swallowed by quadru- 
peds or birds, and the seeds carried unhurt to 
distant parts : some are furnished with downy 
wings, as the dandelion and thistle ; and all are 
scattered about by the winds, and preserved 



16 CATECHISM OF 

by their hard coverings till excited into ger- 
mination by the heat of the ensuing spring. 

Q. What is the receptacle ? 

A. The receptacle is the common base, 
which supports and connects the other parts of 
the flower : in many plants it is not very con- 
spicuous ; but in the artichoke it is large and 
remarkable, and may be observed of a conical 
form in the common daisy. 

Q,. Why is a knowledge of the parts of fruc- 
tification, most necessary to a young botanist? 

A. The parts of fructification should be 
carefully studied and properly understood by 
the young botanist, as on them is founded the 
system of classification invented by Linnaeus, 
and now almost universally adopted. 

Q. Who was Linnaeus ? 

A. Linnaeus was a celebrated botanist, styled 
the Prince of Naturalists : he was a native of 
Sweden, and was born in the year 1707. He 
wrote many works on botany, and established 
that system which is called after his name. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Classification of Plants. 

Q. Describe the Linnaean system ? 

A. Limreus disposed the whole vegetable 



BOTANY. 17 

creation into 24 divisions called classes, each 
of which he subdivided into orders. 

Q. Upon what principle is this arrangement 
founded ? 

A. The Linnaean classification is founded 
upon the number, situation, and proportion of 
the stamens. 

Q. How are the first ten classes known? 

A. All plants with only one stamen, are of 
the first class ; those with two, are of the 
second; those with three, are of the third; 
and so on, to the tenth ; the number of stamens 
distinguishing the number of the class. 

Q. How may the eleventh class be known? 

A. In the eleventh class, each flower con- 
tains from 12 to 19 stamens : as, in the house- 
leek and mignionette. 

Q. What distinguishes the twelfth class ? 

A. In the twelfth class there are 20 or more 
stamens in each flower, inserted in the calyx or 
flower-cup : as, the cherry, hawthorn, straw- 
berry, &c. 

Q. What plants belong to the thirteenth 
class ? 

A. The plants of the thirteenth class have 
upwards of 20 stamens like those of the 
twelfth, but differ very materially in having 
them iyxserted into the receptacle or base of the 
flower : as the poppy, anemone, butter-cup, &c. 

Q. How is thefourteenth class distinguished ? 

A. The fourteenth class is known by having 



18 CATECHISM OP 

two long stamens and two short ones in each 
flower ; as, the dead-nettle, snap-dragon, &c. 

Q. What plants are comprehended in the 
fifteenth 9 

A. In the fifteenth class, the flowers have 
each six stamens, four long and two short: as, 
the wall-flower, stock, radish, &c. 

Q. How may the sixteenth class be known ? 

A. The character of the sixteenth class is, 
that the stamens are all united together by thin 
filaments, forming a little tube round the pistil 
as, in the passion-flower, geraniums, &c. 

Q. What distinguishes the seventeenth class ? 

A. In the flowers of the seventeenth class, 
the stamens are united by thin filaments into 
two parcels or sets, w r hich sometimes cohere 
together at the base: as, in the pea, kidney- 
bean, &c. 

Q. Describe the plants of the eighteenth 
class. 

A. The eighteenth class contains those 
plants in which the stamens are united into 
more than two parcels : as, in the citron and 
orange trees. 

Q. How is the nineteenth class distinguished ? 

A. In the nineteenth class the stamens are 
united by their anthers into a tube, but the 
filaments are separate: as, in the sun-flower, 
daisy, dandelion, &c. 

Q. By what is the twentieth class known ? 

A. The twentieth class may be known by 



BOTANY. 19 

the stamens growing out of the pistil itself: 
as, in the common ladies-slipper and orchis. 

Q. What plants belong to the twenty-first 
class? 

A. The twenty-first class includes the plants 
in which the stamens and pistils grow on sepa- 
rate flowers, but on the same plant: as, the 
oak, hazel, and fir. 

Q. What distinguishes the plants of the 
twenty-secoyid class ? 

A. In the twenty-second class, the stamens 
and pistils grow not only on separate flowers, 
but on separate plants: as, in the hop, willow, 
yew, &c. 

Q. How is the twenty-third class known ? 

A. The twenty-third class consists of those 
plants whose flowers are of three kinds ; some 
having pistils only, some stamens only, and 
others with stamens and pistils in the same 
flower: as, the ash, maple, &c. 

Q. What plants does the twenty-fourth class 
comprehend ? 

A. To the twenty-fourth class belong all 
plants in which the flowers are unknown, or 
not visible to the naked eye ; as, ferns, mosses, 
mushrooms, sea-weeds, &c. 

Q. How are the names of the classes 
formed ? 

A. The names of the classes are formed 
from Greek words, which express the char- 
acter of each class. Those of the first thir- 



20 CATECHISM OF 

teen classes, are formed from the Greek nu- 
merals, mon, di, tri, fyc, and the word, andria, 
which signifies stamens. 

* Note. — The following list of the classes and their dis- 
tinctions, may be divided into lessons, according to the 
capacity of the juvenile student. 

Table of the 24 Classes. 

1. Monandria One stamen. 

2. Diandria Two stamens. 

3. Triandria Three stamens. 

4. Tetrandria Four stamens. 

5. Pentandria. Five stamens. 

6. Hexandria Six stamens. 

7. Heptandria Seven stamens. 

8. Octandria Eight stamens. 

9. Enneandria Nine stamens. 

10. Decandria.. . . . . .Ten stamens. 

11. Dodecandria Twelve stamens. 

12. Isocandria Twenty stamens. 

13. Polyandria Many stamens. 

14. Didynamia Four stamens, two longand two short. 

15. Tetradynamia. . . Six stamens ; four long and two short. 

16. Monadelphia. . . \ Foments united at bottom but se- 

r ( parate at top. 

17. Diadelphia Filaments in two sets. 

18. Polyadelphia. . . .Filaments in many sets. 

19. Sy ngenesia Stamens united by anthers. 

20. Gynandria Stamens and pistils together. 

01 m ( Stamens and pistils in separate flow- 

21. MoncECia | ergj upQR the same piant 

2^ r> . . C Stamens and pistils in separate flow- 

42. Uicecia. ....... ^ erg ^ U p 0n different plants. 

23. Polygamia Variously situated. 

24. Cryplogamia. . . .Flowers invisible. 



BOTANY. 21 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Orders, Genera , Species. 

Q. How are the classes subdivided? * 

A. Each class is divided into orders; dis- 
tinctions in each order produce a further di- 
vision into genera ; and genera are again sub- 
divided into species. 

Q. On what are the orders founded ? 

A. The orders of the first thirteen classes, 
are founded solely on the number of pistils in 
each flower. 

Q. How may the names be recollected ? 

A. The names of the orders, like those of 
the classes, are formed from the Greek nume- 
rals, by the addition of the word gynia instead 
Df andria\ so that when there is but one pistil, 
he plant is said to be in the order mono%ynia. 
f there be two, digynia; if three, trigynia y 
fyc.\ the word gynia, signifying a pistil. 

Q. Name the orders of the first thirteen 
Masses ? 

A. Monogynia One pistil. 

Digynia Two pistils. 

Trigynia . . .' Three pistils. 

Tetragynia Four pistils. 

Pentagynia Five pistils. 

Hexagynia Six pistils. 

Heptagynia Seven pistils. 

Octagynia Eight pistils. 

Enneagy nia Nine pistils. 

Decagyrtia Ten pistils. 

Dodecagynia Twelve pistils. 

Polygynia Many pistils. 

3 



22 CATECHISM OF 

Q. How many orders are there in the four- 
teenth class didynamia? 

A. The fourteenth class has only two or- 
ders ; gymnospermia, in which the seeds are 
naked at the bottom of the calyx, as lavender, 
mint, &c; and angiospermia, where they are 
enclosed in a seed-vessel. 

Q. How are the orders of the fifteenth class 
distinguished ? 

A. The two orders of the fifteenth class are 
distinguished by the form of the fruit: the first 
called siliculosa, has broad short pods ; and 
the second, named siliquosa, is known by its 
long pods. 

Q,. How are the orders of the three follow- 
ing classes known ? 

A. The orders of the sixteenth, seventeenth, 
and eighteenth classes, are characterized by the 
number of stamens in each flower. 

Q. What do you remark of the other classes ? 

A. The nineteenth class has five orders, 
which being rather difficult to understand, will 
more properly admit of being explained, when 
the plants of that class will be examined ; the 
same may be observed of the rest. 

Q. What is a genus ? 

A. Genus is a subdivision of an order, and 
includes such plants as agree with each other 
in the form and situation of their flowers and 
fruits. 

Q. What is a species? 



BOTANY. 23 

A. A species consists of a number of plants 
which agree in these particulars, but differ in 
the form of their root, stem, leaves, &c. 

Q. Exemplify this division of classes, or- 
ders, genera, and species? 

A. The geranium, which has ten stamens 
united in one set, is in the monadelphia class, 
and in decandria order ; the whole family of the 
plant, constitute a genus of the order ; and the 
different kinds, such as ivy-leaved, rose-scented, 
&c. are the different species of the genus. 

Q. To what may this division be compared ? 

A. A class has been aptly described as bear- 
ing some resemblance to an army ; an order 
to a regiment; a genus to a company, and a 
species to a soldier. 

Q. What means do botanists employ to dis- 
tinguish the species of plants ? 

A. In distinguishing the plant, two words 
are employed ; the first which is called the 
generic name, is common to all the species of 
the same genus ; and the second, termed the 
specific name, is confined to single species. 

Q. Give an example ? 

A. In rosa damascena, which is the botanic 
name for the damask rose, rosa is the generic 
name applicable to the whole genus or family 
of roses; and damascena is the specific name, 
used to distinguish the particular kind or 
species of rose. 

Note. — The description of the characters of plants 
upon paper, will appear dry, difficult, and uninteresting, 



24 CATECHISM OF 

CHAPTER IX. 

Class I. Monandria. 

Q. What description of plants are com- 
prehended in the first class ? 

A. The class of Monandria consists of such 
plants as have only one stamen in each flower. 

Q. Mention the most remarkable. 

A. The plants of this class are very few, 
and chiefly found in tropical countries ; but 
we have the hippuris-vulgaris or common 
mare's tail, and the jointed glass- wort or 
marsh-samphire, the former of which will 
serve to exemplify the class. 

Q. Describe the hippuris-vulgaris. 

A. The hippuris-vulgaris grows in the 
muddy ponds and ditches of most parts of 
Great Britain, and blossoms in the month of 
June; the stem is straight, with the leaves 

unless the pupil study them with the plant before him, 
which will at once convert a barren subject into a pleasing 
amusement. In dissecting the flowers, a needle, a sharp 
pointed penknife, and a microscope, will be found very- 
useful, as many flowers are too delicate to be divided by 
the fingers, and the parts of others are too minute to be 
seen distinctly without the help of a magnifying glass. 
When the character in the flower do not correspond with 
the description, it is to be presumed that some of the 
stamens have fallen off, or that the flower is otherwise 
imperfect. Several should, in that case, be examined, or 
a bud that is not yet expanded may be carefully opened, 



BOTANY. 25 

growing out of the joints, and the flowers at 
the base of each leaf. 

Q. What is the form of the flower ? 

A. The flower, which is very small, has no 
blossom ; its single stamen and pistil growing 
upon the receptacle, as may be seen in the 
first figure of the annexed plate. 

Q. What is the jointed glass- wort ? 

A. The jointed glass-wort, or marsh sam- 
phire, is a very useful plant, found in marshes 
near the sea : when dried and burnt, its ashes 
are called kelp, and are used in the manufac- 
ture of glass and soap. 

Q. What foreign plants belong to this class? 

A. In monandria are found the beautiful ex- 
otic plants which produce ginger, turmeric, 
arrow -root, and cardamoms. 

Q,. Describe the ginger plant? 

A. The ginger plant is a native of the East 
Indies, and rises in round stalks, about four 
feet high : it withers about the close of the 
year; and the roots, which are the only valu- 
able part, are then dug up, scraped and dried 
with great care, and packed in bags for ex- 
portation. 

Note.— Most of the peasantry in the Shetland Isles, 
and the Highlands of Scotland, are supported by collecting 
glass-wort and sea-weeds, and burning them into kelp, an 
article which produces considerable revenues to the pro- 
prietors of those districts. Many of the inhabitants of 
those dreary regions have nothing to depend upon for 
subsistence, but a miserable pittance which they acquire 
in this employment. 



26 



CATECHISM OF 



Q. What are the properties of arrow-root, 
turmeric, and cardamoms ? 

A. Arrow-root is a powder made from the 
root of an American plant, affording a whole- 
some and palatable food for children; turmeric 
is a root extensively used for dying yellow ; 
and cardamoms are seeds valuable for their 
aromatic and medicinal qualities. 



CHAPTER X. 

Class II. Diandric*. 

Q. What description of plants are of the 
second class ? 

A. To the class of Diandria belong all 
the plants which have too stamens in each 
flower. 

Q. What plants are of this class? 

A. The privet, butterwork, meadow-sage, 
brook-lime, and others, are common in Great 
Britain ; and the last of these may be chosen 
to illustrate the class. 

Q. Describe the plant. 

A. Veronica, or brook-lime, is very com- 
mon in ditches and shallow streams : the stem 
is jointed and about a foot in height ; the leaves 
are oval, of a pale green color, and growing 
out of the stem in pairs ; the flowers, which 



BOTANY. 27 

rise in bunches from the base of the leaves, 
are of a faint blue color, and divided into four 
small roundish leaves. 

Q. How is it known to belong to the second 
class ? 

A. Brook-lime may be known to belong to 
the class diandria, by its having two stamens ; 
and to the order monogynia, because there is 
but one pistil. 

Q. Has this plant any medicinal qualities? 

A. Brook-lime was formerly considered of 
much use in several diseases, and was applied 
externally to wounds and ulcers; it has a bit- 
terish taste, and is considered very beneficial 
if the fresh plant be eaten as food. 

Q. What useful plants belong to this 
class ? 

A. In the second class are found the differ- 
ent kinds of pepper-plants, which grow in the 
East and West Indies; and the olive tree, 
cultivated in the south of Europe for the sake 
of its fruit, from which olive oil is extracted 
by pressing it in a mill. 

Q. Are there not some also that delight us 
with their fragrance ? 

A. The common lilac, that perfumes the air 
in summer evenings ; the elegant and odorif- 
erous jasmine; the rosemary and sage, culti- 
vated in our gardens, but which grow spon- 
taneously in warmer climates, are all in the 
second class, and display its characters. 



28 CATECHISM OF 

CHAPTER XI. 
Class III. Triandria. 

Q. How is the third class distinguished ? 

A. Plants of the third class are distinguished 
by having three stamens in each flower. 

Q. What plant may be chosen as an ex- 
ample ? 

A. The Valeriana officinalis, or great wild 
valerian, will serve to exemplify the class : it 
commonly grows about woods and hedges, 
flowers in June, and rises to the height of from 
two to four feet. 

Q. Describe the plant. 

A. The stalk of the valerian is smooth, up- 
right and branching ; the leaves on the stem 
are placed in pairs, upon short broad sheathes ; 
the flowers are small, of a white or purplish 
color, and terminate the stem and branches in 
large bunches. 

Q. What other plants are there of this 
class ? 

A. The different varieties of the spring 
crocus, one of the earliest ornaments of the 
flower garden, are well adapted to exemplify 
this class : one of the species, called saffron 
crocus, furnishes the drug called saffron. 

Q. Are there no other plants of this class 
that are found in the fields ? 



BOTANY. 29 

A. To this class Triandria belong all the 
different species of grasses, which clothe the 
fields with verdure, supplying pasture for 
cattle and grain for man. 

Q. Are there not many kinds of grass ? 

A. Botanists have enumerated upwards of 
300 varieties, they may all be known by a 
straight hollow stalk, called the culm or straw, 
sheathed with long tapering leaves, growing 
out of the joints of the stalk. 

Q,. What are their parts of fructification ? 

A. The part of fructification in grasses, is 
in the ear or head, and consists of two green 
husks, forming the calyx, within which, is a 
small blossom of two valves, containing three 
delicate stamens, that hang over the calyz, and 
jeing agitated by every breath of air, give the 
ear when in bloom a very pretty appearance. 

Q. What are the grasses used as food for 
man ? 

A. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, and different 
dnds of corn, are the seed of various grasses; 
ind although at present so extensively culti- 
vated, but i'ew of them are natives of this 
country. 

Q. What are their different uses? 

A. Wheat and rye, when reduced to flour, 
ire made into bread, w r hich has been emphat- 
cally termed the staff of life : barley is chiefly 
converted into malt, for making beer ; oats 
serve as food for horses, but in Scotland and 



30 CATECHISM OF 

Ireland are often ground into meal, for por- 
ridge and bread. 

Q. What other grasses are valuable to man ? 

A. The sugar cane or reed, grows to the 
height of ten feet, and is cultivated in the East 
and West Indies, for the sake of the juice, 
from which sugar is made ; in the same parts 
grow also the beautiful tamarind tree, the fruit 
of which is so much esteemed as a delicacy, 
as well as for abating thirst and heat in various 
inflammatory complaints. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Class IV. Tetrandria. 

Q. How is a plant of the fourth class 
known ? 

A. All plants of which the flowers have 
four stamens of an equal length, belong to the 
fourth class. 

Q. What examples are there of this class? 

A. Among the most common are teasel, 
madder, pond-weed, and holly. 

Q. Describe the holly tree? 

A. The holly is a well known evergreen of 

Note. — [t is necessary to caution the pupil against 
confounding this with the fourteenth class, in which the 
number of stamens is the same, but of unequal length, two 
being short and two long. 



BOTANY. 31 

singular beauty, with shining prickly leaves, 
and white flowers, which grow in clusters 
round the branches, and are succeeded by 
berries of a bright scarlet color containing 
four very hard seeds. 

Q. What is an evergreen ? 

A. An evergreen is a plant, that retains its 
leaves green, during both the winter and 
summer. % 

Q. Is this plant applied to any useful pur- 
pose ? 

A. Birdlime is made from the inner bark of 
the holly, by beating it in a running stream, 
and leaving it to ferment in a close vessel : in 
severe winters, also, when other food is scarce, 
the upper boughs, which have smooth leaves, 
are cut down, and afford a grateful food to 
deer and sheep. 

Q. What are the uses of the teasel and 
madder? 

A. The heads of the teasel are armed with 
sharp slender bristles, which were at one time 
extensively used by clothiers, for raising the 
knap on cloth. Madder is a useful plant, com- 
mon in the west of England, the root of which 
yields a beautiful scarlet dye. 



32 CATECHISM OF 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Class V. Pentandria, 

Q. What plants belong to the fifth class ? 

A. Plants whose flowers have five stamens, 
belong to the fifth class; this is the most nu- 
merous of all the classes, as it comprehends 
more than one-tenth of the plants at present 
known. 

Q. What plants may be examined in this 
class ? 

A. The atropa belladona, or deadly night* 
shade, will afford a specimen of the fifth class ; 
and a knowledge of its habits and conforma- 
tion will be the more useful, as every part of 
the plant is highly poisonous, and when eaten, 
has often proved fatal in its effects. 

Q. Describe the plant. 

A. The deadly nightshade grows in woods, 
hedges, and shady waste grounds, and is from 

Note. — Some young persons at Edinburgh, perceiving 
in a garden the beautiful berries of the deadly nightshade, 
and unacquainted with their poisonous quality, ate several. 
Scarcely half an hour had elapsed before violent symptoms 
appeared, followed by insanity, gnashing of the teeth, and 
convulsions. Their bodies swelled, the face became red 
and tumid, and in nine hours after two of them expired : 
notwithstanding every medical assistance that could be 
bestowed on them. It may be necessary to remark, that 
vinegar liberally drunk, has been found to counteract the 
effect of this dangerous poison. 



30TANY. 33 

three to five feet in height : the whole plant is 
covered with fine hair, and the leaves are of 
an oval shape, standing in pairs upon short 
foot-stalks. 

Q. What is the shape and color of its flow- 
ers and fruit? 

A. The flowers are bell-shaped, and of a 
dark purple color: they appear in June or 
July ; but the berries are not ripe till Septem- 
ber, when they too frequently tempt children 
to eat them, by their shining black color and 
sweet taste. 

Q. Is there no other species of nightshade? 

A. The garden nightshade, whose flowers 
are white, and the ripe berries black; and the 
woody nightshade, which grows in hedges, 
and bears red berries, are both poisonous, and 
belong equally to this class ? 

Q. What other plants belong to the fifth 
class? 

A. Plants of this class are very numerous : 
among the most common and interesting, are 
the primrose, cowslip, violet, polyanthus, and 
honey-suckle; besides parsley, hemlock, fen- 
nel, and other umbelliferous plants. 

Q. What are umbelliferous plants? 

A. An umbelliferous plant is one which 
sends out from the upper part of the stem, as 
from a centre, a number of supports, which 
spreading like the spokes of an umbrella, 
crown the stem with a great number of small 



34 CATECHISM OF 

flowers; and in the compound umbel, each 
spoke bears a little umbel at its end. 

Q. Name some of the useful plants of this 
class. 

A. The refreshing currant and gooseberry: 
the common flax, so elegant and useful; the 
creeping and ornamental ivy; and the elder- 
tree, the wood of which is used in manufac- 
turing musical instruments, and the berries 
made into wine, form a useful and valuable be- 
verage, are useful plants. 

Q. What other remarkable plants belong to 
this class? 

A. To the fifth class belong the potatoe, 
carried to Europe from this country, by Sir 
Walter Raleigh; the tomato, or love apple; 
the vine; the capsicum, or guinea pepper; the 
coffee tree ; and the tobacco plant, about five 
or six feet in height, from the leaves of which, 
all the different kinds of tobacco and snuff' are 
prepared. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Class VI. Hexandria. 

Q. Of what plants does the sixth class con- 
sist ? 

A. To the class Hexandria belong all plants, 



BOTANY. 35 

whose flowers contain six stamens ; as may be 
seen in the lily, and many other beautiful flow- 
ers of the same tribe. 

Q. Describe the lily. 

A. The lilium candidum, or common white 
lily, usually rises about three feet in height, 
with long narrow pointed leaves, irregularly 
scattered over the stem ; the flower has no 
calyx; and the corolla is bell-shaped, consist- 
ing of six petals, within which are the stamens 
and one pistil, furnished with a long triangular 
stigma. See plate. 

Q. When does this flower appear ? 

A. The lily flowers appear in June and Ju- 
ly ; and although not a native of this country, 
it now very commonly decorates the borders 
of our gardens, not unfrequently mixed with 
the splendid orange lily, belonging to the same 
class. 

Q. What other flowers belong to this class? 

A. Hexandria includes a most beautiful and 
brilliant assemblage of flowers ; as the modest 
snowdrop, the delightful amarylli-s, the fragrant 
lily of the valley, the gaudy tulip, the narcis- 
sus, the hyacinth, the golden crocus, and nu- 
merous exotics which either delight the eye 
with their various hues, or sweeten the air by 
their fragrance. 

Q. What useful plants do you notice ? 

A. The valuable rice plant, a grass with six 
stamens, cultivated throughout the East, as the 



36 GATECHISIM OF 

primary article of food, the same as wheat 
with us ; the curious barberry, the acid berries 
of which, boiled with sugar, are used as a 
sweetmeat; the delicious pine apple; and the 
asparagus, sorrel and garlic, which serve for 
many culinary purposes, are of the class hex- 
andria. 



CHAPTER XV. 
Class VII. Heptandria. 

Q. What plants does the seventh class 
contain? 

A. The seventh class, Heptandria, is com- 
posed of such plants as have in their flowers 
seven stamens ; it contains fewer plants than 
are to be found in any other class. 

Q,. What example will you then give of this 
class ? 

A. The horse chestnut, or aesculus hippoca- 
stanum, one of the most superb ornaments of 
our parks and pleasure grounds, will serve as 
a specimen : it is a native of the north of Asia ; 
and in the month of May, bears clusters of 
flowers, in the form of pyramids, which make 
a beautiful appearance. 

Q. Give a botanical description of its flow- 
ers? 



BOTANY. 37 

A. The calyx is tubular, and divided at the 
brim into five short segments ; the corolla con- 
sists of five petals, inserted into the calyx by 
narrow claws, and is of a fine white color, 
irregularly spotted with red and yellow. 

Q. How is it known to belong to the seventh 
class ? 

A. The horse-chesnut is known to belong to 
this class, from its having seven stamens ; the 
filaments of which are tapering, about the 
length of the corolla, and supplied with pointed 
anthers; its single pistil indicates it to be in 
the order monogynia. See plate. 

Q. To what uses is this tree applied ? 

A. The fruit, which is contained in prickly 
husks, is the favorite food of deer, and is also 
eaten by horses, sheep, and oxen ; when ground, 
starch has been made of the flour ; and it is 
used on the continent, for the purpose of clean- 
ing woollens and bleaching linens ; the bark 
is also sometimes used in medicine. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Class VIII. Octandria. 

Q. What plants constitute the eighth class ? 
A. The class Octandria is distinguished by 
its flowers bearing eight stamens. 



38 CATECHISM OF 

Q. What plant will you select to exemplify 
the class ? 

A. Chlora perforata, yellow-wort, or cen- 
taury, is in this class, and is found growing in 
the sandy soils of some parts of Norfolk, and 
other parts of the country ; it flowers in July, 
and grows about a foot high. 

Q. What other plants does it contain ? 

A. To the eighth class belong the balm of 
Gilead tree, so valuable in medicine, which 
grows in several parts of Africa and Asia : the 
rosewood tree, useful for ornamental purposes; 
the rich colored and well-known nasturtium; 
the numerous and beautiful genus of heaths; 
the cranberry and whortleberry shrubs, the 
fruit of which is much esteemed by confec- 
tioners for tarts ; and the beautiful mezereon 
shrub, one of the earliest productions of Flora, 
often exhibiting its brilliant scailet flowers in 
January and February. 

Q. Is not the maple tree also in this class ? 

A. The maple and sycamore trees have, by 
some naturalists, been removed into this class 
from the twenty-third. The sugar maple is 
very useful to the inhabitants of this country, 
who make large quantities of sugar from the 
juice or sap, which flows, on piercing the trunk 
of the tree in spring, 



BOTANY. 



39 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Class IX. Enneandria. 

Q. How is the ninth class known? 

A. The ninth class consists of plants whose 
flowers have nine stamens; the beautiful flower- 
ing rush, which grows on the margins of pools 
and slow running streams, is a specimen. 

Q. Describe the plant? 

A. The butomus umbellatus, or flowering 
rush, rises from the water with a round smooth 
stalk, from two to five feet high : at the top is 
a head of rose- colored flowers ; each of which 
is composed of six petals, hollowed out like a 
bowl, and three of them smaller than the rest. 

Q. In what order is it? 

A. The flowering rush is in the order hexa- 
gynia, from its having six pistils; they are 
united together at the bottom, and consists of 
a germen gradually passing into a style. See 
plate. 

Q. What plants belong to the ninth class ? 

A. The other principal specimens are the 

Note. — The stately appearance and beautiful flowers 
of this rush in the summer months, are inferior to scarcely 
any other aquatic plants : no piece of water should there- 
fore be destitute of so elegant an ornament. It is of easy 
culture ; for the plant taken from its place of growth, and 
sunk into the water with a stone to keep it fixed, is sure 
of succeeding. 



40 CATECHISM OF 

cinnamon, sassafras, camphor, and cassia; be- 
sides the bay tree, the true laurel with which 
the ancients crowned their victorious generals. 

Q. How is cinnamon procured ? 

A. Cinnamon is the inner bark of a small 
laurel tree growing in the East Indies: the 
bark, while on the trees, is first freed from its 
external greenish coat ; it is then cut length- 
wise, stripped from the trees, and dried in sand, 
where it becomes of a reddish yellow color, 
and curls up into quills or canes. 

Q. What is camphor ? 

A. Camphor is a valuable drug, produced 
by a tree of large growth in Japan: it is ob- 
tained by picking it out in small pieces from 
the crevices and knots of the tree, which is 
cut down and slit into pieces for that purpose. 

Q. Describe the plant which produces the 
rhubarb. 

A. The rhubarb plant is a native of Turkey 
in Asia, where it rises to the height of six 
or eight feet, and is frequently planted in our 
gardens ; the part useful in medicine, is the 
root, which is chiefly brought from Turkey, in 
roundish pieces of a lively yellow color, va- 
riegated with streaks of bright red : the stalks 
make pleasant tarts. 



BOTANY. 41 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
Class X. Decandria. 

Q. What plants are comprehended in the 
class Decandria? 

A. The tenth class comprises all the plants 
whose flowers have ten stamens. 

Q. Mention some of the plants? 

A. In this class is included a great assem- 
blage of fine plants and flowers: as the beau- 
tiful pink or carnation tribe; the numerous 
saxifrages, one species of which bears the 
name of London-pride ; and the arbutus or 
strawberry tree, which grows wild in Ireland, 
and is remarkable for bearing flowers in Decern- 
ber, and ripening its fruit in the ensuing winter. 

Q,. What plant may be selected to exemplify 
the tenth class ? 

A. Dianthus coesius, mountain or chudder 
pink, so called from its growth amongst the 
chudder rocks, where it presents a very cheer- 
ful appearance, by its lively red flowers, about 
four inches high, from May till August. 

Q. What other plants will serve as speci- 
mens ? 

A. We may examine the garden-rue ; the 
corn-cockle, found in corn-fields in June and 
July ; the common chick-weed ; the stone 
crops, yellow succulent plants growing on 



42 CATECHISM OF 

walls and roofs; and the silene or catchfly, 
which takes its name from the entrapping flies 
with its clammy exudations. 

Q. Are there no trees in this class? 

A. Among the trees of this class are the 
arbutus, and those that produce the mahogany, 
lignum-vitae, log-wood, and Brasil wood. 

Q. Describe the mahogany tree ? 

A. The mahogany tree grows to a large size 
in the warmest parts of America, and is very 
profitable to the British settlers; the wood is 
preferred to any other for ornamental purposes, 
as it takes a fine polish, is beautifully varie- 
gated, and very durable. 

Q. What is lignum-vitae ? 

A. Lignum-vitae is the wood of a large tree, 
growing in the West Indies: it is so heavy as 
to sink in water; and, from its hardness and 
beauty, is in great demand for various articles 
of turnery ware. 

Q. Whence is log-wood chiefly imported? 

A. The log- wood tree is smaller than the lig- 
num-vitae, and grows to the highest perfection 
at Campeachy, in the bay of Honduras, north 
Guatimala; the wood, which is of a dark red 
color, is of the greatest use in dying cloth and 
staining wood, and is brought to Europe in 
junks or logs of about a yard in length, which 
are cut in pieces, and bruised in a mill, before 
being used by the dyer. 

Q. For what is Brasil wood used? 



BOTANY. 43 

A. Brasil wood comes from the West Indies, 
and is chiefly used forgiving a beautiful scarlet 
color to cloth ; but from its taking a high polish, 
and its lively color, it is often wrought into 
various elegant articles of turnery. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
Class XI. Dodecandria. 

Q. What kind of plants belong to the 
eleventh class ? 

A. The eleventh class consists of plants 
having flowers with from twelve to nineteen 
stamens in each. 

Q. What well known plants belong to this 
class ? 

A. In the class Dodecandria are found, the 
purple loose stripe, common on the banks of 
rivers; the common agrimony; weld, or dyer's 
weed ; the delightful mignionette, originally 
brought from Egypt ; and the common house- 
leek, which will serve as an example of the 
class. 

Q. Where is the house-leek found ? 

A. The supervivum tectorum, or common 
house-leek, is a small evergreen that grows in 
clusters on the roofs of cottages and the tops 
of old walls : the leaves adhere to the plant 



44 CATECHISM OF 

in thick tufts, are of a fleshy substance and 
fringed at the edges with hair. 

Q. Give a botanical description of its flow- 



ers 



? 



A. The calyx is divided into 12 parts; the 
corolla is longer than the calyx, and consists 
of 12 or more petals ; and the number of sta- 
mens is the same as tha*of the petals. 

Q. In what order is it? 

A. The house-leek is known to be in the 
order dodecagynia, from its having about 12 
pistils, which are placed in a circle within the 
stamens; the germens gradually decline into 
sharp summits, and the flower is succeeded by 
twelve capsules. 

Q. To what use is weld applied ? 

A. Weld, or dyer's weed, is made great use 
of for dying woolen, silk, or cotton, of a beau- 
tiful yellow color ; its flowers have been ob- 
served to follow the course of the sun, turning 
towards the east at sun-rise, and towards the 
west at its setting, and at midnight pointing to 
the north. 

Note. — The examination of plants of this class, is often 
unsatisfactory to the novice, as the stamens vary from 12 
to 19, and are sometimes even fewer than 12, coming out 
at different periods. In the house-leek this uncertainty 
occurs in all the parts of the flower, particularly in the 
number of pistils, which differs according to the richness 
of the soil in which the plant is found. 



BOTANY. 45 

CHAPTER XX. 

Class XII. Icosandria. 

Q. How is the class Icosandria known ? 

A. The twelfth class, Icosandria, has 20 
stamens and upwards, inserted into the calyx. 

Q. What plants does it comprehend ? 

A. This class contains the most esteemed 
fruit-trees, such as the apple, pear, plum, 
medlar, cherry, and their different varieties ; 
besides a pleasing assemblage of shrubs and 
herbs, as the strawberry, the raspberry, the 
rose, the sweet-briar, the bramble, &c. 

Q. Do all these grow wild in England ? 

A. They are all found wild in England ; 
and it is remarkable, that the wild apple, or 
crab-tree, is the original from which all the 
garden varieties are derived ; as the bullace 
or wild plum, is the parent stock of the ex- 
quisite magnum bonum, green-gage, and other 
plums. 

Q. What plant will you examine in this class ? 

Note. — It may be proper, in this place, to caution the 
pupil against consulting flowers that are double, like those 
of the garden-rose ; as in becoming double they commonly 
Jose their distinctive character, and are therefore useless 
to the botanist. Great richness of soil and high cultiva- 
tion, have this effect upon single flowers ; and the sta- 
mens, in some kinds, are converted into petals, so that 
they no longer produce seed. By transplanting the plant 
into a poorer soil, it is usually brought back to its natural 
state. 



46 CATECHISM OF 

A. The rosa canina, or dog-rose, which 
frequently makes a conspicuous and beautiful 
appearance in woods and hedges, in the month 
of June, will serve as a specimen of the class. 

Q. Describe the flower ? 

A. The wild rose has a corolla of five 
heart-shaped petals, each fixed by a sort of 
claw to the neck of the calyx : the stamens 
are numerous, and attached to the sides of the 
calyx. 

Q. What is remarkable of the calyx ? 

A. The calyx is composed of one leaf, with 
five long and narrow divisions, two of which 
have teeth on both edges, another is toothed 
on one edge only, and the other two are entire ; 
when the blossom falls off, the calyx contracts 
at the neck, so as to form a red berry, contain- 
ing numerous seeds. 

Q. What are some other plants of the 
twelfth class ? 

A. Among the plants of this class, are the 
almond and peach trees, the clove tree, the 
laurel, and the myrtle. 

Q. Describe the almond-tree? 

A. The almond-tree is a native of Barbary, 
usually varies from 12 to 16 feet in height, and 
has long pointed leaves of a bright green 
color; the fruit consists of a tough hairy sub- 
stance, within which is the thick rough shell 
that contains the kernel. 

Q. Where does the clove tree grow ? 



BOTANY. 47 

A. The tree which produces this well- 
known spice, is a native of the East-Indies, 
and in its general appearance resembles the 
aurel : the part used is the unexpanded flowers 
and calices, which acquire their dark brown 
color from the smoke by which they are dried, 
in order to preserve their aromatic qualities. 

Q. What do you remark of the laurel and 
myrtle ? 

A. The common laurel is an evergreen, and 
was originally introduced from the Levant: 
that elegant littte shrub, the myrtle, grows 
wild in Asia and Africa ; and one species of it 
in the West Indies, rises to the height of above 
thirty feet, and produces the berries called pi- 
mento, or all-spice. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
Class XIII. Polyandria. 

Q,. What characterizes the thirteenth class, 
Polyandria ? 

A. In the thirteenth class the stamens are 
numerous, from 20 to 1000 rising immediately 
from the receptacle. 

Q. How is this class further distinguished 
from the last, in which the stamens were fixed 
in the calyx ? 



48 CATECHISM OF 

A. In the class Icosandria, the calyx is al- 
ways of one piece, divided at its border, and 
usually permanent ; whereas in this class, Po- 
lyandria, if the flower have a calyx at all, it 
consists of two or more leaves, which gene- 
rally fall off as soon as the blossom opens. 

Q. What plant will you select for examina- 
tion ? 

A. The common red poppy, (papaver 
rhaeas,) which is found in com fields, and 
flowers in June and July, will afford a good 
example. 

Q. Describe the flower ? 

A. The calyx consists of two oval leaves, 
which falls off as the flower expands ; the 
corolla is composed of four roundish petals, 
of a bright scarlet color, and marked at the 
base with a shining black spot ; the germen 
is shaped like an urn ; there is no style ; and 
the summit is convex, and divided into rays 
like the spokes of a wheel. 

Q. Is not opium obtained from a species of 
the poppy ? 

Note. — From the resemblance in the structure between 
the plants of this and those of the preceding class, some 
late writers on Botany have injudiciously united them into 
one. It is, however, very important to preserve them dis- 
tinct, as the character of* the class Icosandria, indicates the 
pulpy fruits which accompany it to be infallibly whole- 
some ; whereas some of the other class are absolutely 
poisonous. Sir J. E. Smith has observed, that no traveller 
in the most unknown wilderness need be afraid to eat the 
fruit of any plant whose stamens grow upon the calyx. 



BOTANY. 49 

A. The large white poppy, from which 
opium is procured, is a native of England, 
usually growing in neglected gardens ; but in 
the eastern countries it is regularly cultivated, 
and is a source of considerable profit to the 
nhabitants. 

Q. How is opium produced ? 

A. When the seed vessels of the poppy are 
half grown, several incisions are made in them, 
with a sharp instrument, and the milky fluid 
which exudes, is scraped off, and when suffi- 
ciently dried in the sun, is formed into cakes 
or rolls for sale. 

Q. To what uses is it applied ? 

A. Opium is of great use in medicine, par- 
ticularly in causing sleep and allaying pain : 
the Turks and other eastern nations, use it to 
Droduce intoxication, and chew it in the same 
nanner as others chew tobacco. 

Q. What other plants belong to this class ? 

A. The class Polyandria is also exempli- 
fied in the water-lily, whose foliage and beau- 
tiful flowers make a fine appearance on the 
surface of ponds ; the lime-tree, the paeony, 
crowfoot, marsh-mary-gald, monkshood, helle- 
bore, and those brilliant ornaments of the par- 
terre, the ranunculus and the anemone. 

Q. What remarkable foreign plants are 
there ? 

A. To this class belong the caper-shrub, 
the precious nutmeg, and the tea-tree, which 



50 CATECHISM OF 

affords the agreeable beverage now almost 
universally used in every country. 

Q. Of what country is the caper-bush a 
native ? 

A. The pickle in common use, under the 
name of capers, is the young flower buds of a 
beautiful shrub found in the Levant and the 
south of France, where it grows wild among 
rocks and rubbish, and is as common as the 
bramble is with us. 

Q. What kind of tree produces the nutmeg ? 

A. The nutmeg tree is a native of the East 
Indies, and attains to the height of 30 feet, 
producing numerous branches, the fruit of 
which is round, or oval like the peach, and 
contains, under a fleshy covering, the seeds or 
kernels, called nutmegs. 

Q. Describe the tea-tree. 

A. The tea-tree, w T hich is cultivated as an 
important article of commerce in China and 
Japan, is an evergreen, attaining to the height 
of from six to ten feet, much branched, and 
covered with a rough dark grey bark : the 
flowers are white, somewhat resembling those 
of the dog-rose ; and the leaves, which are the 
only valuable part, are narrow and tapering, 
and about an inch and a half in length. 

Q. In what manner are the leaves prepared ? 

A. When the tree is three years old, the 
leaves are carefully gathered, and put into 
large iron pan over a furnace, where they are 



BOTANY. 51 

dried to a certain degree ; they are then spread 
upon mats, and rolled by workmen between 
the palms of their hands, after which they are 
cooled as speedily as possible ; and the pro- 
cess is repeated several times with the same 
leaves, before they become fit for use. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
Class XIV. Didynamia. 

Q. What are the characters of the class 
Didynamia ? 

A. The plants of the fourteenth class are 
distinguished by the proportion of the sta- 
mens, which are four in each flower, two long 
and two short. 

Q. How are they further distinguished ? 

A. In the present class, the flowers are of a 
particular structure, the corolla being of that 
form which is called ringust, or gaping, from 
its resemblance to an open mouth. 

Q. Give an example. 

Note. —Tea was first introduced into Europe from 
China, by the Dutch merchants, in 1641, and into England 
about the year 1666, when it sold for 60 shillings per 
pound. In China and Japan, it is drunk as commonly as 
beer is in England, and is sold in the same manner in 
every town, and on every road, It is there, however, used 
without sugar or cream, 



52 CATECHISIM OF 

A. The common white dead nettle, lamium 
album, which is found growing in every hedge, 
is in this class, and will serve as a specimen, 

Q. Describe the construction of the flower? 

A. The flowers are inserted round the stem 
in whirls or sets ; each corolla is of one piece, 
of a tubular shape, and divided at the top into 
two lips, the upper of which is called the hel- 
met, and the lower the beard. 

Q. Where are the stamens situated? 

A. By lifting up the helmet, four stamens are 
discovered in two pairs, and of a dark color : 
and in the midst of them is a forked style, 
which remains fixed to the receptacle, when 
the stamens are pulled off with the corolla. 

Q. Are there no other plants ? 

A. Plants of this class are of common oc- 
currence, both in fields and gardens; as the 
ground ivy, mint, common marjoram, thyme, 
eye-bright, snap-dragon, yellow-rattle, and the 
showy and medicinal fox-glove; besides laven- 
der, and many others introduced from foreign 
countries. 

Note. — [n the first 13 classes the orders have been dis- 
tinguished solely by the number of styles in each flower; 
but in the remaining classes, the orders are formed by 
other circumstances, which it is necessary to point out. 

The fourteenth class has two orders, distinguished by 
the nature of the seed : 

1. Gi/mnospermia has four naked seeds at the bottom of 
the calyx ; as may be seen in the dead nettle and scullcap. 

2. Angiospermia, having numerous seeds covered with ; 
pericarp ; as in snap-dragon and yellow rattle. 



BOTANV. 53 

Q. Do no trees belong to this class? 

A. There are a few ; the most remarkable 
of which is the calabash tree of the West- 
Indies, which produces fruit so large that the 
shell is capable of holding two pints of water, 
and being hard, is converted into bowls, dishes, 
spoons, &c. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
Ci-ass XV. Tetradynamia. 

Q. What plants belong to the class Te- 

tradynamia ? 

A. The plants of the fifteenth class, have 
flowers with six stamens^ four of which are 
longer than the other two. 

Q. What native plants of this class may be 
commonly met with ? 

A. Examples of Tetradynamia are found in 
the shepherd's purse, honesty, candy-turft, and 
scurvy-grass, which grow wild in the fields ; 
in the cultivated turnip, cabbage, radish, and 

Note.— To assist the student in distinguishing this 
class from the sixth, in which the stamens aFe of equal 
length, he may remember that the flowers of the fifteenth 
class have always four petals, which form a cross, being 
regularly placed in pairs opposite to each other, and ar§ 
thence called cruciform, or cross-shaped. 
5 



54 CATECHISM OF 

mustard ; and the sweet-scented wall-flower 
and stock. 

Q. Give a botanical description of the wall- 
flower ? 

A. The wall-flower has a calyx of four 
spear-shaped leaves, and a corolla of four 
petals of a roundish form, fastened to the re- 
ceptacle by a claw as long as the calyx : the 
divided summit of the pistil, and four of the 
stamens, are visible in the unopened flower, 
but the two shorter ones remain concealed 
within the calyx. 

Q. Of what shape is the seed vessel ? 

A. When the corolla falls off, the germ of 
the wall-flower grows into a long silique or 
pod, containing several flat egg-shaped seeds ; 
and when nearly ripe, it opens at the bottom 
in two valves, and discloses the seeds ranged 
on both sides of the membrane which sepa- 
rates the valves. 

Q. Have all cruciform flowers the same 
kind of seed vessels ? 

A. In some plants of tribe, the seed vessel 
is a roundish pouch or pod, as may be seen in 
the horse-radish, shepherd's purse^ and the 
oval silky pouches of honesty. 

Note. — This difference in the shape of the seed-vessel, 
forms the two orders into which the class is divided. 

1. Silliculosa, has the seeds in a pouch more broad than 
long ; as shepherd's purse and honesty. 

2. Siliquosa, in which the seeds are contained in a long 
pod ; such as the wall -flower, stock, turnip, and radish. 



BOTANY. 55 

Q. What is mustard ? 

A. Mustard (sinapis nigra) is a plant known 
by its bright yellow flower, that grows wild 
in corn-fields, but is cultivated to great advan- 
tage for the sake of the seeds, which, when 
powdered, produce the mustard which is in 
common use at our tables. 

Q. For what is woad used ? 

A. Woad is extensively used in dying vyool- 
en cloth of a fine blue color : it is said to be 
the plant with which the ancient Britons 
painted their bodies, to give them a bluish 
appearance, and a more dreadful aspect in 
battle. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
Class XVI. Monadelphia. 

Q. How are plants of the class Monadel- 
phia distinguished ? 

A. In the sixteenth class, the stamens are 
combined by their filaments into one tube, or 
common base. 

Q. What familiar plants will serve to ex- 
emplify it ? 

A. The characters of this class, may be 
.observed in the common mallow, the holly- 



56 CATECHISM OF 

hock, the large and beautiful family of gera- 
niums, the passion-flower, and the hibiscus. 

Q,. What useful exotics does it comprehend ? 

A. The most valuable is the cotton plant, 
which is cultivated in the East and West 
Indies, and in Southern States of our own 
country : the seed vessels contain a white 
downy substance, which, after undergoing the 
process of carding and spinning, is woven into 
the cloth called cotton. 

Q. Is not nankin also a species of cotton ? 

A. Nankin is manufactured from a cotton of 
a reddish yellow color, w T hich is produced in 
China, in the province of which Nankin was 
the capital : it is of considerable value, on ac- 
count of its durability, and never losing its 
color, even with long use and frequent w ashing. 

Q. Will it not be proper to examine a plant 
in this class ? 

A. The common mallow will be very fit for 
that purpose, as it affords a good example of 
the construction of the whole class. 

Q. Where is it found ? 

A. The mallow is common under hedges, 
and in waste ground, and flowers from June 
to September: there are also two other species, 
the tree-mallow and the marsh-mallow, neither 
of them materially differing in their characters. 

Q. Describe the common mallow? 

A. Malva sylvestris, or common mallow, 
rises from one to three fe£t in height, has a 



BOTANY. 57 

rough, upright and branched stem, and hairy 
leaves, with five or seven divisions, unequally 
notched at the edges, and a purplish stain near 
the stalk. 

Q. What are the characters of the flowers ? 

A. The flowers are large, consisting of five 
heart-shaped petals, of a purple color, painted 
with veins of a deeper hue ; the calyx is 
double ; and the middle of the receptacle rises 
like a little pillar, supporting numerous sta- 
mens, arid many thread-like stigmas. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
Class XVII. Diadelphia. 

Q. Of what plants does the seventeenth 
class consist ? 

A. The seventeenth class, Diadelphia, con- 
tains the plants whose stamens are united by 

Note. — The sixteenth class has eight orders, which are 
distinguished by the number of stamens. 

1. Triandria, three stamens. 

2. Penlandria, five stamens, contains the stock's bill. 

3. Endecandria, seven stamens. 

4. Odandria, eight stamens. 

5. Decandria, ten stamens, contains the geraniums. 

6. Endecandria, eleven stamens. 

7. Dodecandria, twelve stamens. 

8. Pulyandria, many stamens, contains the mallow 
described above, and the holly-hock. 



58 CATECHISM OF 

their filaments into two parcels or sets, for the 
most part in unequal numbers 

Q. How are the plants of this class further 
distinguished ? 

A. The flowers of the plants of this class, 
from the pea to the smallest species of trefoil, 
are all of the same form, called capilionaceous, 
or butterfly-shaped, from a fancied relation to 
the form of a butterfly. 

Q. What examples can you give of the 
class ? 

A. Among the plants of this class, are fu- 
mitory, common in corn-fields ; milk-wort, a 
pretty little plant with blue flowers, found on 
heaths ; peas, beans, vetches, broomfurze, and 
clover. 

Q. What papilionaceous flowers will you 
select as a specimen? 

A. The fragrant sweet pea, or the garden 
pea, some of whose flowers may be procured 
during the greater part of the year, will serve 
to illustrate the class. 

Q. How is the flower formed ? 

A. The flower consists of five petals, the 
largest of which, that turns upwards, is called 
the standard ; the two side pieces resembling 
each other, are the wings, below which is seen 
a greenish white part, called on account of its 
form, the keel or boat. 

Q. Where are the stamens and pistils ? 



BOTAMY. 59 

A. On pulling the keel gently downwards 
is seen the germ, or element of the pea-pod, 
surrounded by a cylindrical membrane, which 
terminates in ten distinct stamens, forming as 
it were an exterior armor about the germ, to 
defend it from rain and other injuries. 

Q. Where do you observe the character of 
the class Diadelphia? 

A. By examining the membrane more close- 
ly, two small holes will be discovered near the 
base, and on inserting a needle through both, 
one stamen will separate from the rest, and 
thus will form two sets, displaying the char- 
acter of the class. 

Q. How is the seed-vessel constructed ? 

A. The pod or legune of the papilionaceous 
tribe, is not divided by a partition, like the 
pod or silique of the wall-flower, but the seeds 
are fastened alternately to each valve, and all 
of them to the thick edge of the legume. 

Q. What remarkable exotics does this class 
contain ? 



Note. — The class diadelphia, is divided into four orders, 
named from the number of the stamens. 

1. Pentandria, five stamens. 

2. Hexandria, six stamens, in which the filaments are 
separated into two bodies, each having three anthers as in 
fumitory. 

3. Octandria, eight stamens, contains only the genus 
polygain, or miik-wort. 

4. JDecandria, ten stamens, contains the plaats which 
are usually termed leguminous, such as peas, beans, 
vetehes 9 broom, furze, and trefoil. 



60 CATECHISM OF 

A. Besides the acacia-tree, laburnum, and 
other ornaments of the shrubbery, the seven- 
teenth class has the liquorice tree, and the 
plant growing in the East Indies, whose leaves 
afford the indigo for dying blue cloth. 

Q. Describe the liquorice plant. 

A. The liquorice plant is a native of the 
South of Europe, but is extensively cultivated 
at Pontefract, in Yorkshire, and in other parts 
of England : the plant rises four or five feet 
in height ; and after three years growth, the 
roots are dug up for sale. 

Q. What properties does this root possess? 

A. Liquorice has a very rich sweet taste, 
and is almost the only sweet that quenches 
thirst ; it is very useful in obstinate coughs, 
and an infusion or extract, conceals the taste 
of unpalatable drugs more effectually than 
syrups, or any sugared substance. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 
Class XVIII. Polyadelphia. 

Q. What is the character of the eighteenth 
class ? 

A. In the flowers of the class Polyadelphia, 
the stamens are collected into more than two 
parcels or sets, each parcel united at the bot- 
tom by the filaments. 



BOTANY. 61 

Q. What plants are there of this class? 

A. The eighteenth class does not contain 
many plants. The Hypericum androsaemum, 
or tutsan, a species of St. John's wort, will 
serve as an example. 

Q. In what situation does it grow ? 

A. Tutsan grows in woods and damp, un- 
cultivated grounds, but is not very common ; 
it bears flowers in July, of a rich yellow 
color, on a shrub-like stem, about a foot and a 
half in height. 

Q. Describe the flower? 

A. The calyx is placed below the germen, 
and consists of five acute leaves ; the petals 
are also five in number, and of an irregular 
oval shape ; the stamens are numerous, and 
commonly united at their bases into three por- 
tions or bundles ; and the seed-vessel is a small 
pulpy berry, which, when ripe, is of a purplish 
black color. 

Q. Mention some of the foreign plants. 

A. Among the most interesting foreign 

Note. — This class, as arranged by Sir J. E. Smith, has 
three orders, distinguished by the number or insertion of 
the stamens. 

1. Dodecandria, having stamens 12 in number, and their 
filaments connected with the calyx, as in the orange and 
lemon. 

2. Icosandria, having 20 stamens, their filaments in- 
serted (in several parcels) into the calyx. 

3. Polyandria, having many stamens unconnected with 
the calyx, as in tutsan, and the several kinds of St. John's 
wort. 



62 CATECHISM OF 

plants, are the chocolate nut-tree, the orange, 
lemon, and citron trees. 

Q. Of what part of the world are the orange 
and lemon trees natives ? 

A. The orange and lemon are natives of 
Asia, but they have long been cultivated in the 
open fields in Spain, Portugal, and all the 
warmer portions of Europe; they are very 
handsome evergreens, and often adorn the 
greenhouses of this country, where they how- 
ever, rarely attain to their natural size, or 
bring their fruit to perfection. 

Q. What medical qualities do oranges pos- 
sess ? 

A. The juice of the orange is a grateful 
acid, of considerable use in fevers and inflam- 
matory disorders, for allaying heat and quench- 
ing thirst; it is also of great efficacy in pre- 
venting and curing the scurvy: the outer yel- 
low rind warms the stomach, and promotes 
appetite, and the flowers, which are extremely 
fragrant, are much used in perfumes. 

Q. What do you remark of the lemon? 

A. The lemon possesses similar medical 
virtues with the orange; but, as its acid is 
stronger, it is often employed to restrain vomit- 
ing : the juice as well as the rind, is also used 
in cookery, confectionary, &c. 



BOTANY. 63 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Class XIX. Syngenesia. 

Q. What plants are comprised in this class ? 

A. The nineteenth class, Syngenesia, con- 
tains plants bearing flowers which are termed 
compound, and which have many distinct florets 
on one common receptacle. 

Q. What plant will you examine? 

A. The plants of this class are very nu- 
merous, and easily procured ; as the dandelion, 
thistle, blue-bottle, groundsel, colts-foot, &e., 
but the most pleasing specimen, perhaps, is 
the humble daisy, the common ornament of our 
fields during the summer months. 

Q. Describe the general appearance of the 
daisy ? 

A. The daisy differs from any flower already 
examined, and is more interesting, as all those 
apparent white and pink petals, are in reality 
so many true flowers ; and everv one of those 
yellow spots in the middle is a real flower also. 

Q. Examine one of the exterior white petals? 

A. There is a long w 7 hite part tipped with 
red, and at the lower end, by which it is fas- 
tened, appears a little tube, that contains a 
thread ending in two horns, which are the 
forked summit of the pistil. 



64 CATECHISM OF 

Q. How are the florets of the centre con- 
structed ? 

A. Each of these beautiful little florets, 
when expanded, has a corolla, shaped like 
the lily of the valley, with five stamens, which 
are united in the form of a tube, and surround 
a pistil that passes through them, and is forked 
at the summit. 

Q. Describe the other parts of the daisy: 

A. The whole of the florets are contained 
in a calyx composed of two rows of leaves, 
and stand upon a common receptacle, which is 
formed like a sugar loaf; here is no seed- 
vessel, but the little oval seeds are placed im- 
mediately below the yellow florets, and when 
these fall off, naked seeds remain attached to 
the receptacle. 

Q. Are all the flowers of this class formed 
the same as the daisy ? 

A. All compound flowers bear a general 
resemblance to the daisy ; but some have all 
their florets like those of the centre, as in the 
thistle; while in others the florets resemble 
those of the margin of the daisy, as the dan- 
delion and sow-thistle. 

Note. — The minute charms of these elegant little flow- 
ers, are best discovered with the aid of a magnifying glass. 

The class Syngenesia has five orders: — 

1. Polygamia (equalis, in which each floret is perfect, 
that is, furnished with stamens and a pistil ; as dandelion 
and sow-thistle. 



BOTANY. 65 

Q. Are no native plants of this class culti- 
vated in gardens? 

A. Many ornamental and useful plants have 
been reclaimed from the field, where they 
originally grew wild; such as the common 
garden marygold, tansy, chamomile, and the 
elecampane, a medical plant, much esteemed 
for the aromatic bitterness of its root. 

Q,. What are the most remarkable exotics ? 

A. The foreign plants of this class most 
commonly met with, are, the sun-flower, the 
scarlet cardinal flower, the common artichoke, 
very generally eaten in the south of Europe, 
of which it is a native : and the Jerusalem ar- 
tichoke, another species which produces tubes 
similar to the potatoe. 

2. Polygamia superflua, distinguished by the florets of 
the centre, having perfect stamens and pistils, and those 
of the margin pistils only, as in the daisy. 

3. Polygamia frustranea, having the florets of the cen- 
tre perfect, but those of the margin destitute both of style 
and stamens ; as in the sun-flower, and blue-bottle. 

4. Polygamia necessaria, in this order the florets of the 
centre have stamens only, and those of the margin have 
pistils only ; as in the garden marygold. 

5. Polygamia segregala, comprehends such flowers as 
have tubular florets, all perfect, each floret having its own 
separate calyx, in addition to the general calyx, which in- 
cludes all the florets; as the globe-thistle. 



66 CATECHISM OF 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Class XX. Gynandria. 

Q. How are plants of the class Gynandria 
distinguished? 

A. The flowers of plants in the twentieth 
class, are formed in a peculiar manner, by the 
stamens growing upon the pistil itself. 

Q. Of what plants is it composed ? 

A. The class gynandria consists chiefly of 
those beautiful tribes of flowers, the orchis 
and ophrys, much sought after by gardeners 
and florists, on account of their singular struc- 
ture. 

Q. Are any of them found wild in America ? 

A. There are many species of orchis grow- 
ing wild, which may be commonly met with : 
that called orchis mascula, or early purple 
orchis, from its purple flowers, is found in 
woods and meadows, and is in blossom in April 
and May. 

Q. Give me a description of the plant ? 

A. The stalk rises about a foot in height, 
and is purplish towards the top ; the leaves are 
long, and usually marked with dark-colored 
spots ; and the flowers terminate the stem in 
,a long regular spike. 

Q,. Describe the construction of the flower ? 

A. The corolla of the orchis is composed 



BOTANY. 67 

of five petals, two of which are upright, of 
an oval pointed shape, with their lips bent in- 
wards, and the other three are placed above 
it, so as to form the helmet ; the lip is large, 
and divided into three lobes ; and the nectary- 
is lengthened out behind into a tubular part, 
resembling a little horn. 

Q. What is the character that distinguishes 
it as belonging to this class ? 

A. The orchis is included in the twentieth 
class, from having its two short filaments in- 
serted into the germen; the anthers are cu- 
riously incased in the limb of the nectary ; and 
the germen is oblong and twisted, with a short 
style and compressed summit. 

Q. What other specimens are there ? 

A. In this class may be also examined the 
ladies-slipper, the birthwort, and the curious 
arum, whose sheathed flower is succeeded by 
clusters of bright scarlet berries, which make 
a conspicuous appearance under the hedges 
where they commonly grow. 

Note. — Gynandria contains seven orders : 

1. Monandria, one stamen, contains the orchis tribe. 

2. Diandria, two stamens as in the ladies-slipper. 

3. Triandria, three stamens. 

4. JHrandria^ four stamens. 

5. Penlandria, five stamens. 

6. Hexandria, six stamens, contains the very extraordi- 
nary genus of birthwort. 

,7. Octandria, eight stamens. 



68 CATECHISM OF 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Class XXI. Jtfonwcia. 

Q. What plants are in the twenty-first 
class ? 

A. The twenty-first class is composed of 
plants having stamens and pistils in separate 
flowers, both growing on the same plant. 

Q. Mention some of ths plants ? 

A. The class Monoecia contains many 
curious and important trees and plants : among 
the latter, are the cucumber, melon, and others 
of the gourd tribe ; the sedge, bull-rush, arrow- 
head, maize, or Indian corn, and that ill natured 
plant, the stinging nettle. 

Q. What is Indian corn? 

A. Indian corn, or maize, is a very valuable 
American plant, cultivated in many countries 
for the sake of its seed, which, when ground, 
produces more flour than any other kind of 
corn : the stalk is jointed like the sugar cane, 
and bears large ears, upon which the grains 
are fixed in naked rows. 

Q. What are the trees of this class ? 

A. Some of our most valuable trees belong 
to this class ; as the oak, the pine, beech, 
birch, hazel, box, mulberry, walnut, and horn- 
beam. 

Q. What are the flowers of the oak ? 



BOTANY. 69 

A. In the oak tree the stamens are on a cat- 
kin, a sort of spike composed of flowers and 
chaff; and the pistils are sitting in buds at- 
tached to the branches : the same may be seen 
in the hazel and beech trees. See plate. 

Q. For what is the oak remarkable ? 

A. The oak is remarkably long lived, and 
attains to so great a size, that when full grown, 
it has measured above 70 feet in circumfer- 
ence : it is the most important of trees, as, by 
uniting hardness with such a degree of tough- 
ness as not easily to splinter, it has long been 
justly preferred for the purpose of building 
ships. 

Q. To what other uses is it applied ? 

A. The bark of the oak is universally used 
in the tanning of leather ; and the acorns or 
fruit which contains the seed, are good for 

Note. — The twenty-first class has nine orders, which 
are also formed from the number of stamens: — 

1. Monandria, one stamen. 

2. Diandria, two stamens, contains the willows. 

3. Triandria, three stamens, the numerous tribe of 
sedges. 

4. Tetandria, four stamens, contains the nettle, the mul- 
berry, alder, box, and birch trees. 

5. Pentandria, five stamens, contains the lesser burdock. 

6. Hexandria, six stamens. 

7. Polyandria, more than seven stamens, contains the 
oak, beech, walnut, hazel, hornbeam, and plane trees; 
arrow-head, and arum or cukoo-pint. 

8. Monadelphia, the stamens united by their filaments 
into one set, contains the pine or fir trees. 

9. Polyadelphia, the stamens united into more than two 
sets, as in the gourd tribe. 

6 



70 CATECHISM OF 

fattening hogs and deer; oak saw-dust is the 
principal vegetable ingredient used in dying 
fustians, and all the different shades of drab 
and brown color. 

Q. What are the light spongy bodies called 
oak-apples .? 

A. The excresences that grow from the 
leaves, and other tender parts of the tree, are 
occasioned by little insects, which w r ound the 
surface in order to deposite their eggs : their 
proper name is galls : and those brought from 
the southern parts of Europe, are the principal 
substance used in making the ink, used in 
writing. 

Q. Is not cork obtained from a species of 
.the oak ? 

A. The elastic substance called cork, so 
serviceable in stopping bottles, &c. is the outer 
bark of a species of oak growing in the south 
x)f Europe, and north of Africa: the tree is 
unserviceable till it is 25 years old ; but from 
that time it continues every tenth year to yield 
good cork, during nearly 200 years. 

Q. What name is given to the wood of the 
pine ? 

A. The wood of the Scotch pine, or fir, is 
very smooth and light, and called red deal ; 
the common white deal is produced by the 
Norway pine : the famous cedar of Lebanon, 
Is a species of pine growing on the mountains 



BOTANY. 



71 



of Syria, especially on Mount Lebanon, from 
which it takes its name. 

Q. What useful substances are procured 
from these trees ? 

A. Pitch, turpentine, and rosin, are ob- 
tained from the Norway pine ; and the Scotch 
fir, when cut in pieces, and enclosed in a large 
oven, constructed for the purpose, with a 
channel at the bottom, yields the substance 
called tar. 

Q. For what is box-wood used ? 
A. The box-tree is an evergreen, rising to 
the height of 10 or 12 feet: it is very slow in 
growing, which renders the wood hard, heavy, 
and of great value for making musical and 
mathematical instruments, handles of tools, and 
the finer kinds of turnery ware. 

Q. Of what country is the mulberry tree 
a native ? 

A. The mulberry tree is a native of Italy, 
and is now cultivated in most parts of Europe 
and America, not only for the grateful fruit 
which it affords, but in many places for the 
more lucrative purpose of supplying silkworms 
with its leaves, upon which they feed. 

Q. For what is the wood of the walnut tree 
chiefly used ? 

A. The wood of the walnut is of a dark 
color, beautifully variegated, and by being 
hard enough to admit of polishing, is generally 
used for making gun stocks : it was also much 



72 CATECHISM OF 

used by cabinet makers, before the introduc- 
tion of mahogany. 

Q. What are the most remarkable plants o! 
foreign countries ? 

A. Among the foreign plants may be noticed 
the cocoa-nut tree, the bread-fruit tree, the 
siphonia or Indian-rubber tree, and the tallow 
tree. 

Q. Describe the cocoa-nut tree ? 

A. The cocoa-nut tree is a native of the 
East Indies, and attains to the height of 60 
feet : it makes a very grand appearance, the 
tops of the stems being crowned with tufts 
of leaves from 10 to 15 feet long, and bearing 
clusters of nuts nearly as large as a man's head, 
the inner part of which is well known in this 
country. 

Q. What is the bread-fruit tree ? 

A. The bread-fruit tree bears fruit about 
the size of a child's head, which supplies the 
inhabitants of the South Sea Islands with 
abundance of wholesome food during the 
greatest part of the year ; they also clothe 
themselves with cloth made of the bark ; and 
the w r ood serves for building their huts and 
canoes. 

Q. How is Indian-rubber procured ? 

A. Indian-rubber, or cautchuc, is an elastic 
rosin, that oozes out under the form of a veg- 
etable milk, from incisions made in trees grow- 
ing in the West Indies, Brazil, the East Indies 



BOTANY. 73 

and China ; it thickens and hardens gradually 
on exposure to the air ; and although it usually 
comes to us in the shape of little bottles, it 
will take any other form, by covering moulds 
of clay with the liquid juice. 

Q. What is remarkable of the tallow tree ? 

A. The tallow tree grows in China, and is 
about the height of a common cherry tree : it 
is remarkable for producing berries, from 
which a green wax is obtained, that is manu- 
factured into candles ; but it has a strong smell, 
and does not afford so clear a light as the com- 
mon tallow. 



CHAPTER XXX. 
Class XXII. Dicecia. 

Q. What plants constitute the twenty-sec- 
ond class (Dioecia) ? 

A. The twenty-second class has the plants 
of which the stamens and pistils are in separate 

Note. — Indian-rubber. — The American Indians made 
boots with it, which water cannot penetrate, and which, 
when smoked, have the appearance of real leather. Torches 
are made of it, which give a beautiful light, without any 
disagreeable smell ; and the inhabitants of Quito prepare 
from it a kind of cloth, which they apply to the same pur- 
pose as our oil-cloth. It is now extensively manufactured 
into shoes, both in this country and in England, and in other 
countries. It is also useful in rubbing out black-lead pen- 
cil marks. 



74 CATECHISM OF 

flowers, situated on two separate plants ; as 
may be seen in the yew, which possesses the 
best flowers to illustrate this class. 

Q. What plants does it contain ? 

A. In the list of plants may be noticed the 
hop, spinach, juniper, butcher's-broom, mistle- 
toe, hemp, and the willow and poplar trees. 

Q,. For what is the hop used ? 

A. The hop is cultivated for giving an 
agreeable bitter to malt liquor ; the part used 
is a sort of catkin, which contains the flowers 
that have pistils. 

Q. What is the juniper ? 

A. Juniper is an evergreen prickly shrub, 
growing in several healthy parts of England, 
and other countries, from whose berries the 
well known spirituous liquor called gin is pre- 
pared. 

Q. What is remarkable of the mistletoe ? 

A. The mistletoe is a parasitical evergreen 
shrub, commonly growing on apple, oak, and 

Note.— The twenty-second class has eight orders : 

1. Monandria, one stamen. 

2. Diandria, two stamens, contains the willow. 

3. Triandria, three stamens as in the crow berry. 

4. Teirandria, four stamens, contains the mistletoe, and 
gale or Dutch myrtle. 

5. Pentandna, live stamens, has the hop, hemp, and 
spinach. 

6. Hexandria, six stamens, contains black briony. 

7. Polyandria, many stamens, as in the poplar. 

8. Monadelphia, the" stamens united into one set, con- 
tains the juniper and the yew. 



BOTANY. 75 

other trees, and retaining its white smooth 
berries throughout the winter ; it will not take 
root in the ground, but if the ripe berries be 
rubbed into the apertures of the bark of almost 
any tree, they will produce plants the follow- 
ing winter. 

Q. For w r hat is hemp employed ? 

A. Hemp, though cultivated in this country, 
was originally a native of the warm climate of 
India. The best hemp is now produced in 
Russia ; though a very excelhttt quality grows 
in the United States. Ropes and sail-cloth are 
made of hemp ; and the seed is useful for feed- 
ing birds and poultry. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 
Class XXIII. Polygamic*. 

Q. How is the tw r enty-third class distin- 
guished ? 

A. The character of the class Polygamia 
consists in having some flowers with stamens 
only, others with pistils only, and some w r ith 
all their parts perfect ; and these aie placed 

Note. — Hemp is sown in March, and is fit for harvest 
in October ; it is then pulled up and soaked in water, for 
the purpose of separating the tough rind or outer coating 
from the woody parts of the stalk ; after it has been 
combed, dried and reduced to different fineness of texture, 
it is spun for various purposes. 



76 CATECHISM OF 

either on the same plant, or on two or three 
different ones. 

Q. What plant will serve to exemplify the 
class ? 

A. These distinctions may be seen in the 
ash, which bears perfect flowers only on one 
tree, and flowers with pistils only, on others: 
each sort of blossom, however, is usually ac- 
companied by some few of the other. 

Q. What other plants are there ? 

A. There are^he wall pellitory, one of the 
most common of British plants, growing on 
old walls, and flowering from May till Sep- 
tember ; the common fig-tree, the plantain 
tree, the acacia, and the sensitive plant. 

Q. Describe the pellitory ? 

A. The pellitory has a rough upright stem, 
reddish, and furnished with long spreading 
branches ; the flowers are small, of a greenish 
color tinged with red, and placed in clusters 
round the foot-stalks of the leaves. 

Q. What is remarkable of the fig-tree ? 

A. The fig-tree has no apparent flower, but 
the fruit, in its early stage, has the inner sur- 

Note.— The twenty-third class, Polygamia, has three 
orders : 

1. Moncecia, having united flowers, accompanied with 
barren or fertile flowers, or both, all on the same ; as in 
orache pellitory. 

2. Ditfcta, having the different flowers on two separate 
pants. 

3. Triacia, the same on three separate plants. 



BOTANY. 77 

face covered with little florets, which can only 
be discovered by opening it: it is a native of 
the south of Europe, but will ripen its fruit in 
England, and in many parts of the United 
States, if screened from the north-east wind. 

Q. Where does the plantain-tree grow ? 

A. The plantain-tree grows in all the West 
India Islands, and is one of the greatest bless- 
ings of the inhabitants : the stalk rises to the 
height of 20 feet, and at the top produces 
leaves often eight feet long, but remarkably 
thin and tender. 

Q. In what manner is this tree so useful ? 

A. The fruit or plantains are an excellent 
substitute for bread, and are used as such chiefly 
by the negroes ; they are about a foot long, and 
from three to six inches round, with a tough 
skin, under which is the soft pulp, that is 
roasted and eaten: every other part of the 
tree is also applied to some useful purpose. 

Q. What is the acacia ? 

A. The acacia is a tree growing in Arabia 
and Egypt, from which gum arabic exudes in 
a liquid state, in a similar manner to the gum 
that is often produced upon the cherry and 
other trees in this country ; and by exposure 
to the air, it soon acquires solidity and hard- 
ness. 

Q. What are the singular properties of the 
sensitive plant ? 



78 CATECHISM OF 

A. Mimoso pudica, or the sensitive plant, is 
a native of Brazil ; but it is now commonly 
found in the hot-houses of this country ; it is 
remarkable for the power which it possesses 
of contracting its leaves or branches when 
touched. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 
Class XXIV. Cryptogamia. 

Q. What is the character of the conclud- 
ing class of the Linnesan system ? 

A. The class Cryptogamia, comprehends all 
plants whose flowers are either imperfectly or 
not at all known, or not capable of being num- 
bered with any precision. 

Q. What are these plants ? 

A. The cryptogamus plants are ferns, mosses, 
liverworts, flags and mushrooms. 

Q. What are ferns ? 

A. Ferns are well known plants growing 
about the borders of woods near rivulets, and 
in stony, rocky places, distinguished by the 
form of their leaves, which are shaped like 

Note. — The orders of the twenty-fourth class are na- 
tural orders or families. 1. Filices, or ferns ; 2. Musci, 
or mosses ; 3. Hepatica, or liverworts ; 4. Alga, or flags ; 
and 5. Fungi, or mushrooms. 



BOTANY. 79 

the end of a lance, and divided inter, a great 
number of lobes or second leaves. 

Q. Do they not produce any flowers ? 

A. What is called the fructification or seed- 
vessels of ferns, is generally disposed in spots, 
or parallel lines at the back of the leaf ; as 
may be seen in the common brake and spleen- 
wort, found on old walls, stumps and roots of 
trees, and shady places. 

Q. What is remarkable of mosses? 

A. Mosses, interesting little evergreens, are 
really herbs with distinct leaves, and frequently 
as distinct a stem : they are found in the hottest 
and coldest climates, and have the singular 
property of reviving with moisture, however 
much dried up. 

Q,. How are they constructed ? 

A. The structure of mosses is equally cu- 
rious and beautiful, but too minute to be ob- 
served without the aid of a magnifier : they 
have both stamens and pistils, enclosed in a 
little roundish body that grows out of the bot- 
tom of the leaves, and which when the seed 
ripens falls off. 

Q. What are liverworts ? 

A. Lichens, or liverworts, are fleshy or 
leather-like substances, growing on rocks, 
trees, and old buildings : the most common 
species may be observed in the form of a rough, 
yellow and bluish crust on gooseberry bushes, 



80 CATECHISM OF 

and old park-palings, to which they impart a 
picturesque appearance. 

Q. Are they applied to any useful purpose ? 

A. The fine purple color called orchil, is 
extracted from a valuable species of lichen, 
found in the Archipelago ; and several other 
kinds afford beautiful dyes : the rein-deer, 
lichen or moss, grows in Lapland to the height 
of a foot, and is the principal food of the use- 
ful animal whose name it bears. 

Q. What plants are included under the term 
algcz, or flags ? 

A. The aquatic algae are the sea-weeds or 
marine plants, which derive their nourishment 
by their surface being either fixed by their 
roots to stones or rocks, or floating about with- 
out being attached to anything. 

Q. Describe the fungi ? 

A. The fungi, or mushrooms, are a singular 
tribe of plants, without branches, leaves, or 
flowers, and scarcely any root : their substance 
is fleshy, generally of quick growth, and short 
duration, and differing in firmness from a 

Note. — The rein-deer resembles the stag, and is admi- 
rably suited by Providence to the frozen regions of the 
north, where the inhabitants could not exist without it. 
It auswers the purpose of a horse, by drawing them in 
sledges over regions covered with snow; its flesh and 
milk afford them food ; its skin clothing ; and its bones, 
sinews, and intestines, are converted into many useful 
articles. 



BOTANY. 81 

watery pulp to a leathery or even woody 
texture. 

Q. Are not some of them poisonous ? 

A. Numerous instances have occurred of 
the fatal effects arising from the imprudent use 
of fungi : when the poisonous symptoms show 
themselves, vomiting should be immediately 
excited by means of an emetic, and then vege- 
table acids should be given, either vinegar, 
lemon-juice, or that of apples. 

Q. Describe the eatable mushroom ? 

A. The only kind of mushroom that may 
be eaten with safety, is the agaricus campes- 
tris, or common mushroom, which grows wild 
in parks and uncultivated fields, and is often 
produced in hot-beds : when it first appears 
above the ground, it is round and smooth, and 
in expanding discovers a white stalk covered 
with a sort of cap, beneath which are flat thin 
substances, disposed edgeways, called gills, of 
a pink hue when young, but afterwards of a 
dark liver color. 

Q. What other substances belong to the 
tribe of fungi? 

A. With the fungi are classed morels, truf- 
fles, and puff-balls ; and the different sorts of 
mushrooms, whose rise causes those circles 
in meadows called fairy rings. 

Note.— Some authors followed a different system, and 
only enumerated twenty-one or two classes ; we have fol- 
lowed the system of Linnreus, and have given twenty-four, 



82 CATECHISM OP 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The Habits of Plants. 

Q. What is meant by the habits of plants ? 

A. It is that disposition which plants show 
for peculiar soils and situations, even in the 
same climate ; while almost every climate has 
its own diversity of vegetables. 

Q. What is the arrangement of plants with 
regard to their habits ? 

A. They are generally arranged under six 
heads, as follows:— I, Aquatic"; 2, Alpine; 
3, Hilly; 4, Shady; 5, Campaign; and 6, 
Parasitical plants. 

Q. What are aquatic plants ? 

A. Aquatic plants are those that grow in the 
water : such as the grass-wrack, sea perslane, 
sea wort, sea holly, sea lavender, sea plantain, 
and many others. In lakes and ponds we find 
the water lily, water milfoil, pond weed, water 
violet, flowering rush, and many others. 

Q. What are the alpine plants 9 

A. The alpine plants, so called from the 
Alps in Switzerland, are such as grow on the 
sides, or on the tops of high mountains. Of 
this description are the mountain strawberry, 
rose wort, globe flower, &c. 

Q. What are hilly plants ? 



BOTANY. 83 

A. They are such as are found on dry, 
sandy and gravelly hills, scorched with the 
sun. The hawthorn, dog-rose, creeping tre- 
foil, are examples of this class. On dry de- 
clivities may be found the mountain ash, gar- 
den plum, honey suckle, the beautiful rose, &c. 

Q. What are shady plants 9 

A. Shady plants are those that are found in 
shady groves : such as the beech, the ash, 
hazel, buckthorn, sweet brier, blackberry, 
May lily, &c. 

Q. What are campaign plants ? 

A. Campaign plants are those that are found 
on heaths, commons, and fields : such as the 
dewberry-bush, wormwood, plantain nettle, 
henbane, &c. 

Q. What are parasitical plants ? 

A. Parasitical plants are such as grow on 
the trunks and branches of trees : as the mis- 
tletoe, ophrys, toothwart, &c, besides various 
kinds of mosses, lichens, and the like. 

Q. In conclusion what have you to observe 
of plants ? 

A. Plants and vegetables are so useful 
that without them neither men nor animals 
could be supported. They furnish us not only 
with food, but also with medicine. They 
supply us with materials for building houses, 
ships, &c; for dying and tanning ; for paint- 
ing ; for raiment, as flax and cotton ; for com- 



84 CATECHISM OF BOTANY. 

merce ; they contribute to our pleasure and 
ornament ; and, in a word, they are applicable 
to every purpose of life : 

Say, what impels, amid surrounding snow, 
Congealed, the Crocus* flamy bud to grow ? 
Say, what retards amid the summer's blaze, 
The autumnal flower, till pale declining days? 
The God of Seasons, whose pervading power, 
Controls the sun, and sheds the fleecy shower ; 
He bids each flower his quick'ning word obey, 
Or to each lingering bloom enjoins delay. 



£9&li?/£»4 



IRVINGrS 




A CATECHISM OF 

Containing a Description of the Most Familiar and 

Interesting Plants, arranged according to 

the Linnaan System, with an 

■ Appendix on the Formation of an Herbarium, ! 

WITH ENGRAVED ILLUSTRATIONS. j 
P Third •American Edition, Revised and Improved } - 
By M. J. KERNEY, Esq. 

Author of Compendium of Ancient and Modern History, &c 

•Adapted to the Use of Schools in the United States.i 
B A L-T I N/1 O R E: 

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURPHY & CO. 
No. 178 Market street. 
IT Phila.: Kay $ Troutman. Pittsburg : G. Quigley. 



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